Clichy, 19 December 2005 – Today, L’Oréal, the world’s leading cosmetics company, sees the kick-off of its international virtual business competition. For the first time this year, all students who registered were allowed to play the L’Oréal e-Strat Challenge. The game recorded a breaking number of students participating in the first round, coming from prestigious and diverse universities from 125 countries around the world. The result was a more intense and rigorous first selection round than ever before, allowing only the very best 4,500 students to continue onward in the competition.

Until March 10th, the date for the selection of the finalists, teams of three students will be competing online in real-time. The 6th annual L’Oréal e-Strat Challenge gives undergraduate and MBA players the chance to run their own virtual cosmetics company facing real-life market situations and potentially end up landing a job with L’Oréal. The finalists will be invited to present their business plan and “sell” their company to a panel of L’Oréal and business executives at the Group’s Head Office in Paris, France on April 12, the day of the International Finals. The winning teams (Undergraduate and MBA) will receive a trip to the destination of their choice. “The secret of the success of the L’Oréal e-Strat Challenge is its hard-earned reputation as a business game that tests quick thinking, strategic moves and creative solutions. If the participants can succeed in the L’Oréal e-Strat Challenge, they know what it takes to work in a challenging business environment like L’Oréal,” said Jean-Claude Le Grand, Director of International Recruitment.

Since the 1999 launch of L’Oréal e-Strat Challenge – the international and highly competitive online business strategy game – the number of applicants worldwide has skyrocketed. Applications flooded in from every continent and from diverse and prestigious universities. Geoff Skingsley, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at L’Oréal said, “We are all particularly enthusiastic about this year’s edition. The number of growing students wanting to be part of the L’Oréal e-Strat Challenge shows us that we are succeeding in establishing the reputation of this international online business game as a world-class academic and recruitment tool. For us, this is a unique opportunity to identify the brightest and the most talented students in a real business environment who could join L’Oréal and become future L’Oréal Managers.”

L’Oréal e-Strat Challenge has worldwide-renowned business partners with interest in the personal and professional development of students such as STRATX, a consulting and management development group with a world-class R&D team for business simulations; BusinessWeek, the world’s largest business magazine; and EuroNews, Europe’s leading multilingual television news channel and MSN Microsoft, the world’s software leading internet giant.

Further information available on: www.e-strat.loreal.com http://spaces.msn.com/members/estrat